The Story So Far
Prologue Out on the frontier, the weatherponies can only do so much. As such it is the hottest summer the city of Bridle, in the Elsir Vale, has known in many years. In this heat, rumors of unrest and trouble to the west fall on the uneasy ears of the ponies, occasional griffons, and others who make up the city. Still, there is hope, for the rumors of trouble have brought outsiders into the city. Commerce booms along the Dawn Way, and the newcomers have brought an expertise to the city that gives hope to all. While six ponies play a deeper part in solving this issue, the remainder have plenty to do in Bridle... PART I: THE WITCHWOOD On the day of the Summer Sun Celebration, six ponies set out from Bridle: the cheerful magical filly Shining Hope; the intrepid wanderer Sojourner; the team of explorers, Bookend and Dusty Tomes; the fearless priestess of Luna, Sapphire Moonchaser; and the militsya-mare, Kaporal Meteor. Marauder Attack! After a restful night in Nimon's Gap, the ponies continued forward. As they neared the sleepy town of Drellin's Ferry, they were ambushed! A band of brigand hobgoblins, long thought only myths, attacked our heroic ponies. Led by a vile cleric of Tiamat and the hulking champion Uth-Larr, and aided by fearsome draconic hell hounds, they injured Meteor and waylaid the party. But they were no match for our little ponies' heroics, and when the dust cleared, only Uth-Larr and the hobgoblin soldier Kerak still lived on the enemy's side, bound to unconsciousness by Shining Hope's magic of friendship. Zebra in Trouble Back in Bridle, the eccentric inventor Lord Emeraldcoat and the energetic occult investigator, Charcoal, ran into a caravan of zebra. It seems they, too, had run into trouble along the Dawn Way: the caravan leader, Msafiri, was attacked by a band of hobgoblins, while his sister, Hekima, was attacked by pre-Celestian lizard people. Worse, their cousin, Zaafira, was captured by the lizard-folk; worse still, Lord Emeraldcoat learned that both hobgoblins and lizard-folk are connected by their use of strangely draconic hell hounds. They resolve to rescue Zaafira, and book passage up the river to Elsircross on the next ferry. In Drellin's Ferry Meanwhile, the six ponies arrived in Drellin's Ferry, where they turned a surprisingly affable Kerak and an increasingly angry Uth-Larr over to the custody of Captain Soaring Grace. In a meeting with Town Speaker Joyful Stone, the adventurers learned that the ancient ruin Bookend and Dusty Tomes had come to investigate, Vraath Keep, was likely the base of operations for the hobgoblins who were assaulting ponies along the Dawn Way! Worse, the mail is out, and winged hell hounds keep even Soaring Grace or Meteor from traveling by air. They resolve to set out for the Witchwood and investigate Vraath Keep the next day. Meanwhile, Sapphire Moonchaser learns more about the Red Hand Horde. Assault on the River Swan Joined on the riverboat River Swan, Emeraldcoat and Charcoal are joined by renowned chef Cordon Yamsfry, travelling to Elsircross to replace a misordered paucity of good Prench onions. Though Captain Swan Song and her hired griffon mercenaries expected a clear trip, the River Swan soon found itself under attack by four goblin archers riding the hounds Emeraldcoat had suspected were behind the breath weapon residue. One of the mercenaries was killed before the ponies repelled the invaders, and the wheelpony nearly died as well — if it weren't for the magnificent cooking of Chef Yamsfry, there would have been two losses instead of one. And they're not even to Elsircross yet... Venturing Into the Witchwood As they leave Drellin's Ferry, Bookend and Sojourner send an animal messenger -- in this case, a fierce wolverine -- trundling toward Canterlot as fast as its stubby legs can carry it. The party then enters the Witchwood, sending Sapphire Moonchaser and Meteor to warn the old hermit, Wood Watcher, of the oncoming horde. In turn, he warns them of the Blackwater, a marshy river traversed by a causeway, where several ponies have perished. The party finds out why, and barely escape the Hydra lurking around the bridge. Recovering from their wounds, they reach the road leading to the Keep... Heart of Darkness Upon reaching Elsircross, Cordon, Charcoal, and Lord Emeraldcoat learn the plight of the town: a strange light from the Marth Forest to the east comes at dawn, burning down homes and injuring ponies. They push through the forest, fighting off several attacks by lizardfolk, until at last they find the hidden temple. Atop the ziggurat, they discover the orb -- as well as a strange room with a portal to another plane, inscribed with Celestian symbols and a disturbing incantation. They fight the lizardfolk high priest atop the ziggurat, rescue the captive zebra, and lay waste to the warlike tribe before heading back to Bridle. Vraath Keep, Take One Upon reaching the keep, Meteor scouts from the Air, finding no visible guards. Something moves within one of the buildings, growling and purring. Dusty attempts to scout by land, but snaps a large bone, leading whatever is in the building, to thump the wall to tell him to be quiet. Realizing that stealth is not on their side, the ponies elect to wait until dawn, when patrols might be sent out, and ambush one. They retreat to the crossroads and get ready to bed down in ambush. Reinforcements from Bridle Back in Bridle, Charcoal, Cordon, and Lord Emeraldcoat patch themselves up. Cordon delivers his shipment of onions to his restaurant, but by now, he's fully invested in this threat to Equestria. He and Charcoal bring news of the lizardfolk temple to Shining Servant, who brings them disturbing knowledge of certain historical events. Meanwhile, Lord Emeraldcoat visits Just Cause, letting the city council know of the troublesome lizards. The next morning, the Zebras enact a ritual, sending the three adventurers to assist the party presently at Vraath Keep. Bringing Everypony Together As the party ambushes four goblins riding hellhounds, a portal opens in their midst, disgorging three more adventurers who aid the ponies in dispatching the hellhounds and capturing the goblins. During the interrogation, Meteor and Charcoal find themselves at near-violent odds over the treatment of the prisoners. Meteor's increasing view of this as a military operation leads her to take drastic measures, killing one of the goblins, to which Charcoal reacts with a vestige-enhanced shout. For a moment, it seems as though the party will come to blows... before an answering shout comes from the direction of the keep. The Battle With Wyrmlord Koth The manticore is on its way, and it is all the ponies can do to throw up quick defenses before they get there. Lord Emeraldcoat blocks the paths from the woods with bramble fences, and everyone gets into position. It's almost not enough: the manticore attacks from the air, along with a bipedal, draconic figure wearing mage's robes. The mage, who identifies himself as Wyrmlord Koth, blasts the party with a fireball, ending the question of the prisoners (and their lives) even as he assaults the ponies. In the end, the ponies are triumphant, though some of them lie close to death -- and would be dead or dying without Sapphire's help. During the search of the bodies, Meteor finds a disturbing map. Category:Lore